"Hey, kid, it's been a few days since you came to the pool. What, did you cure your insomnia? No need to come here and play dead in the water anymore?"
Uncle Kin was in his fifties. When he saw Yang Chu outside the entrance to the Sham Shui Po Public Swimming Pool, he unusually set aside his newspaper and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
"My insomnia's still here." Yang Chu reached into his pocket, pulled out seventeen Hong Kong dollars, and held them out to Uncle Kin. "But I found a new pool. It's quiet at night, and there aren't many people."
"Tch, don't give me that! There are plenty of pools on Hong Kong Island, but they're all for rich people. You're the type to pay a dozen-odd bucks for a public pool. Where else could you go?"
Uncle Kin's tone was a little sharp. He glanced at the money Yang Chu offered, but only took the ten-dollar bill. "There's a discount at night. If you come a bit later, you won't even have to pay that ten. You young people these days are all being squeezed dry. Sigh, think ahead a little. You don't want to end up living in a cage home when you're old."
"Thanks, Uncle Kin."
Yang Chu smiled, tucked the remaining seven Hong Kong dollars back into his pocket, and headed for the pool's showers.
"What are you thanking me for?" Uncle Kin shook his head as he sat back down. He picked up the newspaper he'd only read halfway and hummed a tune, bobbing his head. "We working stiffs roam the streets, our guts in knots, and whatever little we earn won't last till the end of the month..."
After a noisy shower, Yang Chu returned to the pool. Uncle Kin had been humming and reading his paper the whole time. He glanced over and stared in surprise. "Whoa, kid, have you been eating feed? You've bulked up fast! Where do you work?"
"Movies. I'm a stuntman."
Yang Chu stood at the edge of the pool in his swim trunks, doing some simple stretches as he answered.
Muscle was gradually defining his body. He still wasn't particularly strong, but he was a far cry from the skinny, all-skin-and-bones look he'd had before.
His physical fitness had now caught up with that of an average adult man, and even surpassed it slightly.
Moreover, training had thoroughly loosened most of his ligaments. He could now unleash much more force than before.
"A stuntman, huh..."
Uncle Kin seemed unimpressed as he flipped through his newspaper. He waved a hand. "I hear it's easy to get hurt. You're young, so save up some money while you can."
"I only worked for two days, and I didn't go in today."
Yang Chu smiled at the edge of the pool, then suddenly plunged into the deep end, which was over four meters deep.
"You little punk, you quit after two days?"
Uncle Kin sprang up from his chair. Watching Yang Chu rise from beneath the water, he shouted, "You've got a job, so treasure the opportunity! When I was your age, I worked five jobs a day. You need to get ahead!"
"Got it, Uncle Kin. I don't think I'll be coming to the pool much anymore."
Yang Chu lay back on the surface of the water, his body relaxed, and said it casually.
"What, don't like being told off?" Uncle Kin seemed annoyed. "Hmph. I'm just watching you young people waste your lives without trying to get anywhere. Forget it. We're not family or anything. Who am I to lecture you? I'll stop."
With that, Uncle Kin sat back down in a huff and grabbed the newspaper again. He flipped through it, but couldn't focus on the words. His eyes drifted back to Yang Chu floating on the water. In the end, he stood up, deciding it was better not to look, and picked up a mop to clean the floor.
After mopping for a while, Uncle Kin seemed to come back to himself. He yelled at Yang Chu, who was floating in the deep end, "You little punk, you've been talking more this time."
The previous few times, Yang Chu had been completely expressionless. Today, he'd actually said a few words—and even managed to make Uncle Kin angry.
Yang Chu heard the pool attendant Uncle Kin yelling, of course. He was keenly aware of how he'd changed. Ever since he'd developed such a strong desire to explore kung fu and combat techniques, his emotional responses had indeed become a little more pronounced.
Lying on his back in the deep end, Yang Chu watched the night sky. The weather hadn't been as hot these past few days, and by eight or nine at night, the pool was empty.
He didn't enter the muddled sleep in which he completely lost awareness of the outside world. Instead, he gazed up at the night sky, listened to the surrounding noise, and murmured softly.
"I'm in deep water. If I fall asleep, I could inhale water and suffocate."
"On my way to the public pool, I noticed someone seemed to be following me. I don't know who they are. They might mean me harm."
"If I fall into a sleep where I lose awareness of the outside world, I'll be in danger..."
"Danger surrounds me. I can't fall asleep, but my brain needs to rest."
Floating on the surface, Yang Chu repeated his circumstances over and over, using autosuggestion and self-hypnosis.
For an ordinary person, this kind of autosuggestion and self-hypnosis would take a considerable amount of time. Yang Chu, however, could now do it without needing much time at all.
He couldn't control his brain the way he could the various systems of his body. But the huge amounts of energy he'd consumed had enhanced all kinds of brain function, and in some areas, he could now do things that occasionally surprised even him.
Today, Yang Chu wanted to try another way of falling asleep.
While reading the many books he'd gone through, he'd learned about the different sleep patterns of land and aquatic mammals. Most land mammals had a stable period for sleep: they might be active by day and rest at night, or rest by day and hunt at night.
Aquatic mammals, such as dolphins, slept with one half of their brain at a time to adapt to life in the water.
Yang Chu had wanted to try this unusual sleeping method for a while, but before now, he hadn't been able to manage it.
In the meditative sleep he'd used before, his brain had actually been in a shallow state of sleep. The reason he could still control his body was that, as his brain slept, his consciousness remained in a dream constructed by his brain. Maintaining his body's functions was essentially a kind of sleepwalking.
So even though Yang Chu was conscious and still controlling the various systems of his body, he had no awareness of the outside world.
If a crisis arose, he would have to wake up completely before he could respond.
With alternating half-brain sleep, one half of the brain slept while the other stayed awake. The quality of his rest would be lower, but he wouldn't lose awareness of the outside world.
As Yang Chu continued to suggest it to himself, his left eye slowly closed while his right eye remained open.
Because the left and right hemispheres controlled opposite sides of the body, his left hand and foot could still gently move through the water, and his right ear could still hear the sounds around him.
About five or six minutes later, Yang Chu opened his left eye and closed his right. His right hand and foot could gently move through the water, and his left ear could hear the faint, distant honking of cars.
After alternating like this several times, Yang Chu suddenly heard a noise from outside the pool.
They're finally here?
Yang Chu opened both eyes, his brain fully taking control of his body.
He'd chosen to try this new way of sleeping today because he wanted to put himself in an uncertain situation. Only with his mind held taut could he better master this new method of alternating half-brain sleep.
It looked like it was working.
And the unknown thing he'd been waiting for... danger, or something else, had finally made its move.
Happy National Day!!!! Thanks for your support!!